Language Arts Reflection By: Cassie Quinn This year in Language Arts class, I truly learned what it means to be a writer. Could you imagine the world without the entertainment of books or television? Writers make it happen!
Creating my character’s internal and external traits was easy. I feel when I get assigned a project, I get a vision immediately. I know what I want to do because I relate to the character in some matter. Character movements are difficult. How do you move a character from one place to another without just telling there each and every movement? I feel that sometimes, the reader gets confused. I know I do. Sometimes, I don’t know how to tell the character is in one place or another.
Detailed setting is very important to the piece. If you don’t have a detailed setting, your reader won’t have, what Mrs. Bubalis calls, “the movie”. The movie is a vision in the reader’s head as they read the book. If you don’t have good details, the reader will get bored and throw the book to the side. If you don’t have the movie in your head, it shows that you as the author did not do your job to look over the piece and say to yourself, “I can’t see that happening; it needs work.”
In class, we created story maps to map out our story. The first part we mapped out was the character’s hopes wants and desires. For example, my character I made is named Amelia and she wants to find her voice. Next, we had to find her obstacle, which is the fact that people always look down on her because she is small. The problem that comes with her going to find a pirate is that she doesn’t know what a pirate is. She just thought it was a big person with eye patches and a big boat. Then we would put the climax in our story map, which is when the problems get worse, but it is the turning point of the story. The captain of the boat was locked in the closet by the pirate. Amelia found the captain and let him out. The resolution (the ending, when the problem is resolved) was part of the excerpt I put in. The pirate eventually gets caught and Amelia is reunited with her family. The pirate goes to jail and Amelia got justice.
Editing is very important to your piece! If your piece is not edited, the reader will be distracted by your mistakes and, once again, throw the book to the side.
This year I have learned a lot. I have gone very far this year. Looking back to the fall, I didn’t write nearly as much. This year my writing skills escalated to a level I couldn’t imagine I’d reach. I have definitely improved as a writer. I can still improve my editing abilities. I will never stop growing as a writer. This year I have received a passion for writing and I will never give up on being a better writer.
The writing I picked for my portfolio was my fiction piece. My fiction piece was called Amelia the Pirate. Here is an excerpt of my piece.
The captain of the ship in which the pirate had stolen started speaking of the incident. “You see, I am the captain of this boat, and everyone was having a great time. Suddenly, everything got quiet. I didn’t think much of it, but I hate the sound of nothing. So, I went to check out the scene, but that’s when…” he looked down, probably scared about what happened. He was traumatized, maybe. “I saw everyone getting off the ship in a life raft. I panicked. I thought of my wife and kids, and how much they had already missed me. I have been gone for quite awhile on this boat. It was too long for my taste. I miss them, too. My wife and I had a fight before I left … why am I talking to YOU? You are clearly too young to understand this!” My heart stopped. I had a flashback to my brother’s comments, before I left, but they were wrong. It had been almost 3 days and I am not dead, right? Well, this captain was wrong, too. I do understand.
“Maybe, you don’t know me as well as I know myself.” I stood up on the juice counter. “My name is Amelia Lynn Scissorburg and I have an I.Q. of 137. Normal five year olds don’t have this trait of being sophisticated or talking this well. We are stereotyped to think of only of candy and boogers, but all of us are much more. I wanted to meet a pirate and that’s the reason I am here, but along the way, I found out that the reason was much more than the fact that I wanted to meet a pirate. I wanted to prove that even if we’re 3’2” and a half and are little and young, we can do anything. No one believes that our minds are even larger than our appetite for candy! Captain, please be different than the uneducated fools running around our world.” I took a deep breath. I wanted to say that ever since I could talk. I would understand everything, but never have I been brave enough to do something like that.
“Amelia.” the captain said. “Let’s go get that pirate.” I turned around and clicked on my link I looked up earlier. I read. I gasped. It read “A person who attacks ships at sea.”
“Let’s get him, Captain!” . . . I was happy to be home. I found my mother with her mascara down to her chin and my father and brothers comforting her. Suddenly, everything slowed down. Mom’s face lit up as if her soul was put back. She put her arms around me in a grasp that would never let go. She said she was sorry, I said I was sorry. I missed her and the rest of the family so much my heart wasn’t going to take it anymore, on the bright side I made my point. Even though I’m small and young, I can do anything! I went to Long John Silver’s trial. He’s going to be in that house for quite some time. I gave him a note as he was leaving. It read, You clearly don’t know me as well as I know myself. I found out what you are all about. I would be sad if you got arrested the first day I met you, maybe the second, but right now, well, have a good time in prison. And I think I voiced what I thought once and for all. Home
By: Cassie Quinn
This year in Language Arts class, I truly learned what it means to be a writer. Could you imagine the world without the entertainment of books or television? Writers make it happen!
Creating my character’s internal and external traits was easy. I feel when I get assigned a project, I get a vision immediately. I know what I want to do because I relate to the character in some matter. Character movements are difficult. How do you move a character from one place to another without just telling there each and every movement? I feel that sometimes, the reader gets confused. I know I do. Sometimes, I don’t know how to tell the character is in one place or another.
Detailed setting is very important to the piece. If you don’t have a detailed setting, your reader won’t have, what Mrs. Bubalis calls, “the movie”. The movie is a vision in the reader’s head as they read the book. If you don’t have good details, the reader will get bored and throw the book to the side. If you don’t have the movie in your head, it shows that you as the author did not do your job to look over the piece and say to yourself, “I can’t see that happening; it needs work.”
In class, we created story maps to map out our story. The first part we mapped out was the character’s hopes wants and desires. For example, my character I made is named Amelia and she wants to find her voice. Next, we had to find her obstacle, which is the fact that people always look down on her because she is small. The problem that comes with her going to find a pirate is that she doesn’t know what a pirate is. She just thought it was a big person with eye patches and a big boat. Then we would put the climax in our story map, which is when the problems get worse, but it is the turning point of the story. The captain of the boat was locked in the closet by the pirate. Amelia found the captain and let him out. The resolution (the ending, when the problem is resolved) was part of the excerpt I put in. The pirate eventually gets caught and Amelia is reunited with her family. The pirate goes to jail and Amelia got justice.
Editing is very important to your piece! If your piece is not edited, the reader will be distracted by your mistakes and, once again, throw the book to the side.
This year I have learned a lot. I have gone very far this year. Looking back to the fall, I didn’t write nearly as much. This year my writing skills escalated to a level I couldn’t imagine I’d reach. I have definitely improved as a writer. I can still improve my editing abilities. I will never stop growing as a writer. This year I have received a passion for writing and I will never give up on being a better writer.
The writing I picked for my portfolio was my fiction piece. My fiction piece was called Amelia the Pirate. Here is an excerpt of my piece.
The captain of the ship in which the pirate had stolen started speaking of the incident. “You see, I am the captain of this boat, and everyone was having a great time. Suddenly, everything got quiet. I didn’t think much of it, but I hate the sound of nothing. So, I went to check out the scene, but that’s when…” he looked down, probably scared about what happened. He was traumatized, maybe. “I saw everyone getting off the ship in a life raft. I panicked. I thought of my wife and kids, and how much they had already missed me. I have been gone for quite awhile on this boat. It was too long for my taste. I miss them, too. My wife and I had a fight before I left … why am I talking to YOU? You are clearly too young to understand this!” My heart stopped. I had a flashback to my brother’s comments, before I left, but they were wrong. It had been almost 3 days and I am not dead, right? Well, this captain was wrong, too. I do understand.
“Maybe, you don’t know me as well as I know myself.” I stood up on the juice counter. “My name is Amelia Lynn Scissorburg and I have an I.Q. of 137. Normal five year olds don’t have this trait of being sophisticated or talking this well. We are stereotyped to think of only of candy and boogers, but all of us are much more. I wanted to meet a pirate and that’s the reason I am here, but along the way, I found out that the reason was much more than the fact that I wanted to meet a pirate. I wanted to prove that even if we’re 3’2” and a half and are little and young, we can do anything. No one believes that our minds are even larger than our appetite for candy! Captain, please be different than the uneducated fools running around our world.” I took a deep breath. I wanted to say that ever since I could talk. I would understand everything, but never have I been brave enough to do something like that.
“Amelia.” the captain said. “Let’s go get that pirate.” I turned around and clicked on my link I looked up earlier. I read. I gasped. It read “A person who attacks ships at sea.”
“Let’s get him, Captain!”
. . .
I was happy to be home. I found my mother with her mascara down to her chin and my father and brothers comforting her. Suddenly, everything slowed down. Mom’s face lit up as if her soul was put back. She put her arms around me in a grasp that would never let go. She said she was sorry, I said I was sorry. I missed her and the rest of the family so much my heart wasn’t going to take it anymore, on the bright side I made my point. Even though I’m small and young, I can do anything!
I went to Long John Silver’s trial. He’s going to be in that house for quite some time. I gave him a note as he was leaving. It read,
You clearly don’t know me as well as I know myself. I found out what you are all about. I would be sad if you got arrested the first day I met you, maybe the second, but right now, well, have a good time in prison.
And I think I voiced what I thought once and for all.
Home